The Technical Services Special Interest Section Awards Committee is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2020 Renee D. Chapman Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to Technical Services Law Librarianship is Michael Maben. Michael is the Associate Librarian for Cataloging and Cataloging Projects and Adjunct Lecturer at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. His lengthy career in law librarianship embodies the dedication and sustained professional commitment to technical services law librarianship that the Chapman Award is meant to recognize. Michael’s distinguished service to law library technical services and law librarianship in general includes leadership roles at the local, regional, and national levels; active committee service; significant publications and scholarly work; and numerous conference presentations.
Michael joined the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) in 1988. He is an active and influential leader within both the Technical Services Special Interest Section (TS-SIS) and the Online Bibliographic Services Special Interest Section (OBS-SIS). He willingly assumes the essential, but less glamorous, jobs of our professional organization, working tirelessly and reliably behind the scenes. Michael has demonstrated continuing commitment to librarianship via extensive service national to AALL and its SISs, regionally to the Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians and locally via service within the library and faculty at Indiana University at Bloomington. One highlight was chairing the AALL Special Committee on Cataloging and Internet Access to Electronic Documents (2002-2004) charged with making recommendations to facilitate “provision of better cataloging records … ensuring consistent and permanent access to electronic records.” With Michael’s leadership, the committee predicted and recommended the value of linking applications for these access issues. Michael has served a cumulative ten years on education committees, developing and encouraging programs of interest to draw members to attend AALL’s annual conference.
Michael has published and presented extensively on cataloging and technical services topics, including a peer-reviewed article in Cataloging and Classification Quarterly, the preeminent cataloging journal in the United States. He coordinated, moderated, and/or spoke at a number of AALL annual conferences, and has presented locally and nationally on topics related to both technical services and history. His cumulative record of publication and presentation more than meet the Chapman Award’s goal of recognizing individuals who extend the theoretical foundations of practical elements of bibliographic control. His service as Editor-in-Chief of Technical Services Law Librarian 2013/2014-2018, created a lasting legacy as he recruited and encouraged columnists, and maintained the publication’s high standards.
Michael’s peers describe him as a “consummate professional, a leader in his field, and a wonderful colleague”. He is an effective leader, the “steady individual” one wants on a committee. Many of the letters provided in support of Michael’s candidacy for the Chapman Award cite his role as an encouraging mentor to other technical services librarians. He is described as good natured, modest, gracious, professional, and service oriented. One letter states his “easygoing manner encourages one to approach and ask for help.”
Michael’s AALL colleagues respect and value his technical services expertise, leadership skills and his personal kindness. He is described as a “model TS-SIS citizen” whose “professionalism and leadership based on his in-depth knowledge of librarianship and technical services operations from the broad view continue to astonish me.” Michael’s record of service to librarianship, especially technical services law librarianship, is admirable, consistent, and sustained.
Michael is an exemplary technical services law librarian. His long record of service and scholarship, and continuing commitment are reasons why Michael Maben is very deserving of the Renee D. Chapman Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions in Technical Services Law Librarianship. The TS-SIS Awards Committee is pleased to recognize Michael’s achievements with this award. Congratulations Michael!
2019-2020 TS-SIS Awards Committee
Jackie Magagnosc, chair
Rebecca Engsberg
Lewis Giles
Joy Humphrey
Sidney Lanier
Andi Molinet
Rachel Parks
Alicia Pearson
Barbara Szalkowski